RESOLUTION  NO. 2/10-INF (IS)

ON THE INFORMATION  PLAN  AND  FUNDING  PROBLEMS  THEREOF

           The Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Session of Knowledge and Morality for the Progress of Ummah), held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, from 20 to 21 Shaban, 1424H  (16-17 October 2003),

          Having taken cognizance of the report submitted by His Excellency President Abdoulaye Wade of the Republic of Senegal, Chairman of COMIAC, on Information activities, especially the Information Plan (I.P.);

          Noting as well the report of the OIC Secretary-General on the Role of Information and Communication in promoting the just causes of Islam and highlighting its true image, especially the I.P.;

          Recalling resolutions No. 1/6-C (IS); 46/7-P (IS), 58/8-P (IS) and 70/9-P (IS) adopted respectively by the 6^th, 7^th, 8^th and 9^th Islamic Summit Conferences, and the resolutions on the OIC Information Plan, adopted by the 25^th, 26^th, 27^th 28^th, 29^th, and 30^th Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers (ICFMs);

          Mindful of the resolutions relating to the funding and implementation of the Information Plan, adopted by COMIAC in its 6^th session held in Dakar, Republic of Senegal, 28-29 Rajab, 1421H (October 25-26, 2000), and its 7^th Session held in Dakar on 13-14 Shawal 1423H (17-18 December 2002);

          Also recalling the Member States’ pledges and commitments in the context of their cooperation to build an adequate communications network to lessen the deficiency in the flow of Information in the Islamic world on the one hand, and to create a specific Information Order designed to affirm the national and cultural identities while countering the hostile campaigns targeting Islam and Muslims, on the other;

          Inspired by the resolutions adopted by the 5^th Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM), held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Sha’ban 23-24, 1420H (December 01-02, 1999), in particular resolution no. 5/3-ICIM and the program derived from the Information Plan and contained in document no. FC/WG-MSPI/1-99/PAL9 and the resolutions issued by the 6^th Session of the Islamic Conference  of Information Ministers (ICIM) held in Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt from 5 to 8 Muharram 1423H (8-11 March 2003) particularly resolution No. 2/6-ICIM on the Information Plan:

1 –    Calls on Member States to strongly uphold the Information Plan and make effective contributions to it to ensure its success.  It urges Member states to pledge their contributions for the implementation of the said Plan by:

         a)    Carrying out individually or in cooperation amongst themselves, some of the operations of the Information Plan;

b)        Contributing towards financing OIC activities in the fields of Information and Communication, making voluntary donations to enable it to catch up with and avoid delays in implementing the Plan.  The States are also called upon to proceed with the financing of other portions of the Plan;

c)        Reiterates the Member States’ need to enhance cooperation among their Information bodies, organs and institutions as this is the only means to combine their efforts and unify their human, material and financial potentialities so as to provide for the Ummah a trustworthy Information coping with world events and capable of effectively defending its religion, interests, stances and image;

2 -      Requests the Secretary-General to:

a)       Make direct contacts with the Member States to enquire about the programs foreseen in the Information Plan which they may take upon themselves to cover;

b)       Coordinate with the Member States to mobilize the grants and voluntary donations necessary for the implementation of the entire Information Plan;

3 -    Requests the Secretary-General to follow-up the implementation of the present resolution and report thereon to the 11^th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference.

RESOLUTION NO. 3/10- INF(IS)

ON UPDATING  THE  MECHANISMS  FOR  IMPLEMENTING THE  ISLAMIC  INFORMATION  STRATEGY  INCLUDING

THE  ISLAMIC  SATELLITE

          The Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Session of Knowledge and Morality for the Progress of Ummah), held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, from 20 to 21 Shaban, 1424H  (16-17 October 2003),

          Having considered the report presented by H.E. President Abdullaye Wade of the Republic of Senegal, Chairman of COMIAC, on the activities carried out in the field of Information and Communication under the auspices of COMIAC,

          Having taken cognizance of the report of the Secretary General on the Role of Information and Communication in Promoting the Just Causes of Islam and Clarifying its true image;

          Referring to the general conception of the Islamic Information Strategy adopted by the First Islamic Conference of Information Ministers in Jeddah, 1988;

          Recalling resolutions No. 3/3-ICIM and No. 13/3-ICIM of the Third Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers on the Islamic Information Strategy and its Implementation Mechanisms;

          Referring to resolutions No. 1/6 and 1/7 adopted by the 6^th and 7^th Sessions of the Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC), held in Dakar, Republic of Senegal in 2000 and 2003 on the Islamic Information Strategy and its implementation mechanisms;        

          Referring also to resolutions No.2/5 and 1/6 adopted successively by the Fifth and Sixth Sessions of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers on the Information Strategy and their Implementation Mechanisms, held successively (1999) and Cairo (2003) on the Information Strategy and Mechanisms of its implementation;

1.       Invites Member States anew to take the necessary steps to incorporate the Islamic Information Strategy into their information policies and to publicize this strategy as widely as possible in their media.

2.       Appeals to the Member States to extend human, material and technological assistance to the two information institutions involved in Islamic information, namely the International Islamic News Agency (IINA), and the Islamic States Broadcasting  Organization  (ISBO), to  enable  them  to  achieve their strategic objectives, in accordance with the resolution adopted by the 5^th Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers at Tehran in December, 1999 pursuant to the recommendations of the Expert Group on Updating the Mechanisms of the Strategy.

3.       Requests the Member States to use all available media including satellites and new communication technologies and to coordinate action among space television channels in Member States and between them and the Islamic States Broadcasting Organization with a view to securing for them a better presence in the international information space.

4.       Requests  the Member States to  coordinate  their efforts in order to promote the project of the Islamic Satellite to keep abreast of current developments.

5.       Requests the Secretary General to follow-up the implementation of this resolution and submit a report thereon to the 11^th Islamic Summit Conference.

RESOLUTION  NO. 4/10-INF (IS)

ON THE INFORMATION  SOCIETY AND PARTICIPATION OF MEMBER STATES IN THE WORLD SUMMIT OF INFORMATION SOCIETY

The Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Session of Knowledge and Morality for the Progress of Ummah), held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, from 20 to 21 Shaban, 1424H  (16-17 October 2003),        

Recalling resolution No. 74/9-(IS) adopted by the Ninth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Session on Peace, Development and Al-Aqsa Intifadah), held in Doha, Qatar, on 16 and 17 Shaaban 1421H (12 and 13 November 2000) concerning  support for the nomination of the Republic of Tunisia for hosting the World Summit of Information Society,

          Recalling also resolution No. 6/30-INF of the 30^th ICFM (Session of Unity and Dignity) held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran from 27 to 29 Rabiul Awal 1424H (28-30 May 2003), concerning the participation of Member States in the 2^nd stage of the World Summit of Information Society to be held in the Republic of Tunisia in 2005;

          Referring to resolution No. 3/7-IM(COMIAC) adopted by the Standing Committee for Information and Cultural Affairs, held in Dakar, Senegal, on 13 and 14 Shawal 1424H (17 and 18 December, 2002),

          Referring also to the participation of the General Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in the first and second preparatory meetings for the World Summit of  Information Society, both held in Geneva, 1-5 July 2002 and 17-27 February 2003 respectively (items 25 and 30 of document WSIS 03/PREP-1/11/Rev.1-A), in Paris from 17 to 19 July 2003 and in Geneva (15-26 September 2003),

          Referring as well to the Bamako Declaration issued by the African Regional Preparatory Meeting for the World Summit of Information Society held in Bamako, Mali, 28-30 May 2002, and to the Tokyo Declaration issued by the Asian Regional Preparatory Meeting for the World Summit of Information Society held in Tokyo    (13-15 January 2003), and to the meeting of the Arab League States on the World Summit of Information Society held in Cairo on 16-18 June 2003 and to the Western Asia Preparatory Conference held in Beirut on 4-6 February 2003,

           Commending  the Speech of H.E. President Abdoulaye Wade delivered before the UN General Assembly at its meeting on Technology of Information and Communication for Purposes of Development, held in June 2002 (document: A/57/280) and also the gist of his intervention before the second preparatory meeting (Precom 2) for the World Summit of Information Society (held in Geneva, 17-27 February 2003),

          Having considered resolution No. 4/6 of the 6^th ICIM held in Cairo (8-11 March 2003) which commended the recommendations adopted by the Expert Group Meeting held in Jeddah from 4 to 7 May 2002, charged to review and modernize the mechanisms of joint Islamic information action, (particularly the recommendations of the Committee on New Technologies in Radio and Television, and the recommendations of the Coordinating Committee between Officials of News and Programs of TV Satellite Channels – both public and private – in Member States);

          Having also considered the two drafts of the “Summit Declaration” [WSIS/PC-3/DT/1(Rev.2B] and the “Summit Plan of Action” [WSIS/PC-3/Doc/10 (Add.2) Rev.1] issued by the WSIS Third Preparatory Committee (Geneva – September 15-26, 2003),

          Taking due account of the Report of the Secretary General on issues related to the information society; 

1.                 Reaffirms that the progress of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Member States and assimilation of its mechanisms and applications should not be considered an end in itself but rather one of the key tools for the achievement of comprehensive and sustained development and guaranteeing easy integration of the information society.

2.       Invites the Member States to:

2.1           Contribute to the information society by formulating the features of an information society through all specialized information and communication institutions and all other related services.

2.2           Adequately prepare for the requirements and aspirations of the Member States through the Islamic Conferences of Ministers of Telecommunications, the meetings of the Ministerial Follow up Committees issued from them and the sessions of the Islamic conferences of Communication Ministers, to enable them to effectively contribute to the WSIS in its two phases: Geneva (March 3-5, 2003) and Tunis (November 16-18, 2005).

2.3           Seek to create benefits in all aspects of our daily life through the usage and deployment of ICIS.

2.4           Encourage pluralism of information and diversity of media ownership.

2.5           Enhance sharing of global knowledge for development through the removal of barriers that impede access to information.

2.6           Provide opportunity for capacity building to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in order to gain access to the Information Society and Knowledge Economy, to actively participate in them and benefit fully from them, to upgrade the efficiency in the use of resources and production and to  access local and global markets.

2.7           Seek to establish a well-developed information and communication network infrastructure and applications, making greater use of broad-band and other innovative technologies where possible to accelerate the social commercial and knowledge progress of countries.

2.8           Benefit optimally from the opportunities offered by ICIs in continuous and adult education, retraining, life-long learning, to ensure universal participation in building the Information Society and full use of its benefits.

3.       Requests the General Secretariat to participate actively in the regional and world preparatory meetings of the WSIS in its two phases (Geneva and Tunis), and to coordinate the participation of Member States particularly during the second phase of the World Summit in Tunis (November 16-18, 2005) with a view to:

3.1           Ensuring that Member States reach comparable views regarding the items included in the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action to be issued by the Summit (Geneva Session – Phase I),

3.2           Ensuring cooperation among Member States for the purpose of bridging the digital gap within their respective boundaries and between them and the advanced States.

3.3           Seeking to achieve “digital solidarity” as proposed for by H.E. President Abdullah Wade of Senegal, and to set up an international Fund to support this action.

4.       Requests the Secretary General to follow up the implementation of this resolution and submit a report thereon to the 11^th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference.

RESOLUTION N0. 5/10-INF (IS)

ON THE INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC NEWS AGENCY (IINA)

The Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Session of Knowledge, Morality for the Progress of Ummah, held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, from 20 to 21 Sha’aban 1424H (16-17 October 2003),

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference on the Role of Information and Communication in Promoting the Just Causes of the Islamic Ummah and Projecting the True Image of Islam, and having also considered the activity report of the International Islamic News Agency (IINA),

Guided by Resolution N.7/6-ICIM on IINA, adopted by the Sixth Session of the ICIM held in Cairo on 7 and 8 Muharram 1424H (10 and 11 March 2003),

Taking note with satisfaction of the resolution of the Seventh Session of COMIAC, which calls for the need to lend support to IINA as a specialized institution and as a mechanism charged to implement the programs of joint Islamic information action,

Expressing its deep concern over the lack of commitment of a large number of member states to paying their contributions to the budget of the Agency,

Having taking note of the Agency’s efforts to extend and diversify its field of activity, either on the Internet, by publishing books and bulletins on current events in the Islamic world, or by publishing journalistic reports and investigations on member states, in spite of the financial, technical and journalism-related difficulties faced by the Agency,

    Expressing its gratitude and appreciation to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its continuous support for the Agency, and to the member states that contributed to the Agency financially, morally or with manpower, which enabled the Agency to pursue its information mission:

1-       Calls on member states to pay their annual contributions to the Agency’s budget and to settle their arrears.

2-                Urges member states to provide IINA with editors and translators working for national news agencies in Islamic States.

3-                Appeals to national news agencies in member states to reinforce their ties with IINA in various fields relevant to its activity, particularly by cooperating with the Agency to meet its information needs and counter the media campaigns waged against the Islamic Ummah in general and against Islamic beliefs in particular.

4-    Urges the Agency to activate its internet web site, and to strengthen its     relations with regional federations of News Agencies in the world, either Arab, African or Asian News agencies, and with the Mediterranean News Agencies Federation.

RESOLUTION  NO. 6/10-INF (IS)

ON THE ISLAMIC STATES BROADCASTING ORGANIZATION (ISBO)

          The Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Session of Knowledge and Morality for the Progress of Ummah), held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, from 20 to 21 Shaban, 1424H  (16-17 October 2003),

          Having taken cognizance of the report of the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on the role of Information and Communication n enhancing the just causes if the Islamic Ummah and highlighting the true image of Islam and of the report of the Secretary-General of the Islamic States Broadcasting Organization (ISBO) on the latter’s activities, projects and work plans;

          Guided by the resolutions of the 6^th Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM), held in Cairo, Muharram 7 and 8, 1424H (March 10-11, 2003) on increasing support to ISBO (Resolution No. 6/6-ICIM) and arranging for a symposium to bring together radio and television producers (resolution No. 6/6-ICIM, para 2) and the committee in charge of coordinating news and programs among satellite channels in the Member States (resolution No. 6/1-paras 4)l;

          Taking note with satisfaction of the resolution adopted by COMIAC – VII on supporting ISBO as a specialized institution and part of the mechanisms entrusted to carry out the joint Islamic Information Action;

          Also taking note with satisfaction of ISBO’s achievements in the service of Islamic Da’wa, the propagation of the Arabic language and the defense of Islamic causes;

          Deeply preoccupied by the accumulating arrears of contributions by a large number of Member States to the Organisation’s budget;

          Expressing its thanks and appreciation to the Member States that paid their contributions to the Organization’s budget and are still pursuing their material and moral support particularly to the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for its continuous care and financial support of the Organisation;

1-                 Calls upon the Member States concerned to pay their contributions fully and regularly to the Organization’s annual budget and to speed up the payment of their arrears to enable the Organization carry on its activities normally;

2-                 Calls on the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to expedite the organization of the Second Edition of the International Festival of Radio and TV Producers as promised.

3-                 Exhorts Member States to participate effectively in:

-                      The Second Edition of the Festival for Radio and Television Producers;

-                      The news and programs coordination committee among television satellite channels in the Member States, and Islamic States Broadcasting Organization (ISBO);

-                      Help ISBO in producing “a guide of television productions” for the Member States.

RESOLUTION NO. 7/10-INF (IS)

ON PREJUDICED MEDIA CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA 

The Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (Session of Knowledge and Morality for the Progress of Ummah), held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, from 20 to 21 Shaban, 1424H (16-17 October 2003),

Referring to the principles and objectives of the Charter of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference;

Expressing deep concern over the unjustified and slanted media campaign, particularly in the western world to distort international perceptions of Islam, Moslems, and member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference;

Noting with utmost concern the increasingly biased and unjustified campaigns against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam, and the center toward which Moslems turn to Makkah in prayers;

Considering that the real intentions in attacking the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to attack the whole Moslem world;

Recognizing the need for solidarity and cooperation among the Islamic member states to confront such malicious campaigns;

Realizing the significant and important central role of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in strengthening solidarity and cooperation among member states, and in promoting their security, stability and prosperity;

1.                  Deplores these media campaigns and false accusations against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and calls for a halt to such unjustified for campaigns, which aim at vilifying Moslems and Islam in general.

2.                  Affirms its rejection of such campaigns, expresses support and solidarity with the Kingdom, and values the efforts the Kingdom has made in combating terrorism.

3.                  Calls upon member states to exert intensive efforts in confronting such vicious and malicious targeting of Islam and Moslems and to work together to protect Islam from such slanders and affronts.

4.                  Calls on all nations to confront the threat of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, which has no religion or nationality in an effort through the machinery of the UN. Further calls for dialogue and common understanding to suppress and destroy the well springs of terror that help the terrorists in spreading their evil actions.